The Biz: UMG & Spotify Ink Deal; WNBA Eyes A Prosperous Future; Market Watch & More

UMG, Spotify Ink Licensing Deal
Streaming leader Spotify and Universal Music Group confirmed a new multi-year licensing deal Jan. 26.
Under the deal, Universal Music Publishing Group will engage in a direct licensing agreement with Spotify. That, coupled with the end of the controversial “bundle” discount, will result in increased royalty payments to UPMG and to songwriters, the companies say.
“When we first presented our vision for the next stage in the evolution of music subscription several months ago—Streaming 2.0—this is precisely the kind of partnership development we envisioned. This agreement furthers and broadens the collaboration with Spotify for both our labels and music publisher, advancing artist-centric principles to drive greater monetization for artists and songwriters, as well as enhancing product offerings for consumers,” UMG Chairman and CEO Lucian Grange said in a statement.
Spotify also won a lawsuit this week related to the bundle discount. On Jan. 29, a U.S. District Court judge dismissed a suit brought by Mechanical Licensing Collective that alleged Spotify was unfairly applying the dictates from an earlier court case. Under a 2022 legal settlement with music publishers, Spotify and other streamers agreed to a 15.35% royalty rate, but that settlement also included a provision the streamers could pay a lower rate for content streamed by users with a bundled service that included non-music content like audiobooks. In March 2024, Spotify reclassified all of its premium-tier subscriptions (including family plans) as bundles because they included 15 hours of audiobook listening. MLC filed suit two months later saying Spotify was simply trying to subvert the 2022 agreement.
The judge’s dismissal means Spotify can continue paying the lower mechanical rate.
Spotify also announced Jan. 28 that it paid $10 billion to the music industry in 2024, $1 billion more than 2023 and 10 times more than in 2014.
The Spotify deal drove big price growth for UMG, which is traded on Amsterdam’s Euronext market, with its price climbing more than 7% on the news, which added more than $3.4 billion to its market capitalization.
WNBA’s Bright — And Potentially Chaotic — Future May Be Driven By Expansion, Facilities Arms Race
Free agency opened in the WNBA this week and featured a flurry of high-profile trades, including a three-way swap that sent 2017 No. 1 overall pick Kelsey Plum from Las Vegas to Los Angeles and 2015 No. 1 Jewell Loyd from Seattle to Sin City, with a bevy of early draft picks and secondary players flitting from city to city. Ten-time All-Star and 2013 No. 1 overall Brittney Griner signed a one-year deal in Atlanta, as well.
Much of this movement of high-profile veterans is driven by the fact that the players’ union opted out of the collective bargaining agreement, which will now expire at the end of next season, making virtually every veteran a free agent next year. The new CBA will reflect increased revenues for the league, which is drawing higher ratings and attendance than ever after the ascension of Caitlin Clark and others.
The ability for the league’s established stars to pick their teams — and name their price — is putting sharp focus on one of the league’s long-time bugbears: practice facilities. Many teams have finally started building dedicated facilities after years of having to share with college teams. For example, Plum’s new team, the LA Sparks, practice at El Camino College, though the team announced in November plans for a dedicated facility are underway. Currently, LA, Connecticut and Atlanta are the only teams without their own team facilities. That’s become a major factor in free agency and there was speculation that the Sparks, who were the league’s worst team last year and missed out on the No. 1 draft pick (expected to be UConn star Paige Bueckers, though she does have a sixth year of college eligibility available and thus can essentially decide for herself if she wants to plays in Dallas, which won the lottery), traded for Plum precisely because the team worried about its ability to make a standard-issue free agency splash without a practice facility.
The influx of money and interest is also driving another round of expansion possibilities. On Jan. 30, former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam — the majority owner of the NHL’s Nashville Predators — said he’s leading an ownership group to bring the WNBA’s next team to Nashville in 2028. The ownership group also includes former WNBA star and University of Tennessee Lady Vols legend Candace Parker, country stars Tim McGraw and Faith Hill and former Vols quarterback Peyton Manning.
The team — which would be called the Tennessee Summitt (with two T’s) in honor of late UT coach Pat Summitt, a towering figure in the women’s game — would play out of Bridgestone Arena, which Haslam acknowledged would create some challenges, given that the arena already hosts the Predators and one of the busiest concert schedules in the country (prayers up for David Kells).
Because of Tennessee’s status as a women’s hoops hotbed — the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame is in Knoxville — Nashville has long been part of the speculation when the WNBA expands or its teams look to relocate.
Market Watch
Shares of Live Nation were steady this week, up about $2 from last week by midday Thursday, avoiding the fate of many of its blue-chip brethren, which were roiled by the rollout of Chinese AI property DeepSeek. … Shares of Sphere were similarly stable, off less than 50 cents for the week. The company will report earnings next week. … Endeavor had a volatile week, though its price midday Thursday was essentially unchanged from where it closed last week. Its current price of $30 or so is just a shade above the $27.50 promised by Silver Lake in its take-private bid. The volatility may have been driven by word that a group of non-Silver Lake investors could ask a court to name a new price, given the recent success of TKO — the parent company of World Wrestling Entertainment and the Ultimate Fighting Championship which will remain publicly traded, but majority-held by Endeavor. TKO sets pricing records virtually daily, trading at or near $160 per share. The WWE’s Royal Rumble premium live event airs Feb. 1, kicking off the road to Wrestlemania (the two-day event is set for Las Vegas’s Allegiant Stadium in April). The period between the Rumble and ‘Mania is historically the most profitable time of year for the promotion.
